Often with their parents’ encouragement and supervision, young children are increasingly relying on mobile apps—even services that may not have expressly been designed for them—for learning. While parents have an expectation of privacy for their children when they use these apps, a new study suggests that parents’ trust may be misplaced.

Of note, some of the brands engaged in tracking may be quite familiar to readers…

According to recent research by EdTech Strategies, more than 25 percent of school district websites embed user tracking tools that report sensitive user data back to Facebook. In the wake of a high-profile data-privacy scandal involving the social media company, schools and education organizations are taking a closer look at how and why they engage with Facebook.

Student data privacy advocates say the storm clouds around Facebook from the evolving Cambridge Analytica scandal are a reminder that schools, educators, and students should be asking tough questions about the third-party services on which they rely.

Cyber criminals’ increased interest in attacking education systems imperils students’ financial futures and privacy, and gives parents a reason to question whether schools are up to the task of protecting their kids’ personal data.

In the three weeks since “Tracking: EDU” officially launched, a growing number of news outlets, associations, and organizations have highlighted the findings and significance of the work. Yet, what matters most is that SEAs, LEAs, and schools take what steps they may need in order to improve their website security and privacy practices.

According to a new study released today by EdTech Strategies, “Tracking: EDU,” state and local education agency websites were found to lack important security and privacy protections for students, families, and educators.

State and local education agency websites routinely deploy third-party ad tracking technology. What purpose does it serve? Is it benign (and merely the cost of being on the web in 2017), or does it raise issues worthy of deeper investigation?